Kotzebue, Alaska

... Cold and dry so far this month at Fairbanks...

The average temperature this month at the Fairbanks International
Airport of -3.2 degrees is 8.2 degrees below the 30-year average.
A cold snap began toward the middle of the month... and the
temperature remained below zero from the 15th through the 22nd.
Temperatures prior to the cold snap averaged very close to normal
the first two weeks of the month. The cold snap was a bit longer
than average for November... but nothing unusual as many cold
snaps in November have lasted much longer. Most recently in
2006... there were 16 days in a row with temperatures below zero
from the 11th through the 26th.

Most of the accumulating snowfall this month occurred prior to the
onset of the cold snap... with only very light snow observed
during the 3rd week of the month when temperatures were well below
average. So far this month... a total of 6 inches of snow has been
observed... which is 6 inches below average. November is typically
the snowiest month at Fairbanks with an average of nearly 14
inches of snow.

The weather pattern for the remainder of the month looks to
feature above average temperatures and little chance of any
meaningful snowfall. In fact... another Chinook is expected to
develop on Thursday and last into Friday. This will likely send
temperatures to near or a little above freeing on the hills. It
will remain colder in the valleys underneath a strong inversion.
The Chinook pattern will cause air flowing over the Alaska Range
to warm and dry as it approaches Fairbanks... with little chance
of snow. As the Chinook breaks down by the weekend there maybe a
little light snow or flurries at times... but the chance of any
significant snowfall remains low.

The outlook from the climate prediction center for December is
for an increased chance of above normal temperatures. There are
no strong climate signals at this time to make a prediction if
there will be above or below normal snowfall.